How to Create Meta Business Manager Account (now Business Portfolio): Setup & Facebook Ads Guide 2024

Want to run ads like a pro?😄

If so, Facebook advertising needs to be part of your marketing strategy!

We get that the complexity of navigating Meta's suite of tools can be frustrating — from setting up your Facebook Business Manager (now renamed to Business Portfolio) account to optimizing your ads strategy.

And that’s before we even get into the process of giving other people access to manage your social media marketing ad accounts!

This article will teach you how to create Meta Business Manager Account (now renamed Meta Business Portfolio) and Facebook Ads Account with easy-to-follow steps.

BONUS: We’ll let you in on a secret to make setting up your business manager accounts even easier…just keep reading to find out! 🤭

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What is Facebook/Meta Business Manager/Business Portfolio?

Meta Business Portfolio, formerly known as Business Manager, is a powerful in-app social media management platform designed to streamline Facebook and Instagram marketing in one place.  

In essence, it serves as Meta’s centralized hub for managing advertising campaigns and tracking their performance.  

Let’s take a look at some of the key features of Meta Business Portfolio:

• Access management: You can manage user access and permissions while maintaining full ownership of your Meta business assets.

• Asset organization: All business assets, such as ad accounts, Facebook pages, and product catalogs, are effectively organized separately from your personal account for streamlined management.

• Ad Creation and Management: With advanced tools such as detailed targeting options, budget management, and performance analytics, Facebook Business Manager is a must if you are looking to optimize your ad campaign. 

Want to know more about Meta Business Portfolio? Check out: Why You Need Meta Business Portfolio

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Meta Business Portfolio vs. Meta Business Suite: What's the difference?

While both tools offer a unified dashboard for managing your business activities, each serves a unique purpose:

Features

Meta Business Manager (now Portfolio) is all about the back-end business settings of your Meta assets. This includes ad accounts, pages, permissions, and analytics across multiple business assets.

Meta Business Suite is better suited for the management of social media content, including managing posts, messages, ads, and insights from Facebook and Instagram in one place. It includes tools for creating and scheduling posts, responding to customer messages, and viewing basic analytics.

Target audience

Meta Business Portfolio is ideal for a marketing agency that manages multiple ad accounts, pages, and teams, but also for businesses looking for advanced ad management features.

Meta Business Suite is best suited for businesses with few pages and ad accounts, as it offers a very basic, simplified user interface for content management. 

Access management

Meta Business Portfolio is specifically designed for businesses and agencies that need full control over access. 

‍Meta Business Suite was made with simplicity in mind. This means that it offers basic access levels that may not be suitable for those who have advanced needs for managing team access.

Still not sure which platform (...or perhaps both😳) is for you? Check out: When To Use Business Manager and Business Suite

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What is a Facebook Ad Account? 

A Facebook Ad account is Meta’s central hub for creating new campaigns, managing Facebook pixel, tracking payments, and the amount you spend on each promotion.

You can directly upload your ad creative and copy into Facebook Ads Manager, set a budget, and define your target audience. 

It’s the ultimate space for managing all your advertising activities on both Facebook and Instagram.

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Why do you need a Facebook Ad Account? 

If you want to run advertisements and reach new audiences for your business on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll need a Facebook Ads account. 

It’s impossible to run sponsored ads without a Facebook Ad account.

Using Facebook and Instagram ads can open up your business to numerous opportunities including:

• Building brand awareness
• Getting more people into your sales funnel
• Growing your email list
• Boosting website traffic
• Driving more sales

NOTE: You can only run Instagram advertisements through your Facebook Ad account as the two platforms are connected via Facebook Business Manager. 

Instagram doesn’t have its own advertising platform, making a Facebook Ads account a unified solution for advertising across both Facebook and Instagram. 

To run ads on Instagram, you’ll need to connect your Facebook and Instagram accounts in the Facebook Business Manager. 

Here’s our full guide on connecting your Facebook and Instagram accounts. 

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Who needs access to your Facebook Ad Account?

Do you use a social media agency or freelancer to run your ads?

If someone else runs ads for you on social media, they’ll need access to your ad account.

You can add people and grant permissions for your Facebook Ad account via the Facebook Business Manager or using a tool like Leadsie that simplifies the process.

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How to set up a Meta Business Manager Account (now renamed Business Portfolio)

Before you create a Facebook Ad account and run Facebook ad campaigns, you’ll need a Business Portfolio (also known as a Facebook Business account); which is also how you will get access to your Meta Business Manager Account. 

Here’s how to create a Meta Business Account: 

Step 1. Head to Meta for Business: Facebook Business Manager 

Step 2. Login with your personal Facebook account details. 

IMPORTANT: It’s not possible to create a Meta business account without a personal Facebook account so make sure you already have one in advance. 

Step 3. Click Create an account on the left-hand side when you sign in. 

Step 4. Enter your business details, such as the name of your business, your full name, and business email.

It's important you write the correct account name as this is how you will show up across Facebook.

Then click Submit.

Step 5. Verify your email address.

You should receive a message from notification@facebookmail.com that asks you to confirm your business email address: 

Click Confirm Now.

Step 6. You will now be redirected to your Meta Business Suite dashboard. 

You can find your Meta Business Manager (Portfolio) account by clicking Help > Go to Business Manager.

{OPTIONAL STEPS}

Step 7. To add people to your Business Manager account, click Users.

There are three levels of access:

• People: Individual employees or freelancers who need access to your Meta assets. 

• Partners: Marketing agencies or other external businesses that manage aspects of your Meta assets. 

• System Users: Non-human accounts created to interact with the Meta APIs like software and servers.   

Choose the level that you want and send them an email invitation which they will need to confirm. 

Their invitation email should look similar to this:

‍TOP TIP: Leadsie simplifies access requests to Meta assets with just a single link. 

Don’t believe us?

Here’s how it works:

Step 8. You can access Meta Business Suite from your Meta Business Manager Account by clicking on the All Tools icon and then choosing Meta Business Suite. 

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How to link your Facebook Business Page to your Meta Business Account

Now that you have successfully set up your Facebook Business Manager Account, it is time to connect it to your Meta Page. 

This is essential if you want full access to all the tools and features Meta has to offer.

Here's how you can do this:

Step 1. Click on your account Settings in your Business Manager.

Step 2. Click Accounts > Pages> Add. 

You will get a pop-up with 3 options:

To add a Meta Page you need to type the page’s name or paste the URL into the box. 

To gain access to your client's Meta page as an agency or freelancer, select Request Access to a Page and input the page's URL.

IMPORTANT:  If you don’t have a Business Facebook page, you’ll need to create one. 

Done! ‍

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How to link other social media accounts to your Meta Business Account

Apart from your Meta Pages, Business Manager also lets you connect your other social media accounts — including Instagram and WhatsApp. 

To link them, simply click on either Instagram accounts or WhatsApp accounts and follow the instructions to connect them. 

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How to create a Facebook/Meta Ad Account 

1. Open your Facebook Business Manager account at https://business.facebook.com/. 

2  Click Settings on the bottom left corner. 

3. Select Ad accounts > Add.

You will see 3 options in the drop-down menu box: 

4. Create your new account by selecting Create a new ad account.

5. Fill out the required information including the name of your account, time zone, and currency:

6. Select the business you will use the ad account for and click Create.

7. Select the people you want to add and which permissions you want to grant them:

You’ll see a list of those you gave access to when you set up the business page.

Then click Assign.

8. Click Add payment method.

9. Enter your credit card details and hit save. 

You can always change your payment method in the payment settings at a later date. 

Congrats! 

You’re now ready to start with Facebook advertising and launch your first ad campaign! 

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What can I do with a Facebook/Meta Ads Account? 

We have already established that a Meta Ads Account is a great platform for businesses to achieve their advertising objectives. 

Here’s an overview of what you can do:

• Create ad sets and campaign objectives: The platform supports a wide range of ad formats, including image, video, carousel, slideshow, and more.

• Set daily budgets: You have complete control over your advertising budget and you can even schedule when your ads run, optimizing for times when your target audience is most active.

• Select your target demographics: You can even create Custom Audiences by uploading contact lists or based on website visitors.

• A/B testing: Test different versions of your ads to see which performs the best. 

• Track your metrics and ad performance: With in-depth analytics and reporting tools, you will get insights such as metrics on reach, engagement, conversion rates, and ROI.

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How to set up Meta Pixel and Datasets

Previously known as Facebook Pixel, this is a code snippet you can place on your website to track visitor activities and behaviors on Facebook. 

A Meta Dataset is a collection of data that businesses can create and manage in the Meta Events Manager platform. Like Pixels they also track visitor activities, but from multiple sources such as apps, offline events, and third-party sites. 

Meta Datasets is a relatively new feature, so make sure to check out this guide: All You Need to Know About Meta’s New Datasets

Here’s how you can add Datasets and Pixels to your website:

1. Click All Tools > Events Manager. 

‍NOTE: Although you can find your old Pixels under the Datasets column, you can’t directly install Pixels anymore. You have to create Datasets first instead. 

2. Once redirected to the new platform find the green + sign. 

Here you can connect a new data source.

Let’s assume you want to track website activity so let’s click on Web. 

3. Name your Dataset and click Create. 

4. Enter your website. 

5. Unless you are a developer or you have technical knowledge, you should choose the Get guidance option to help you connect your data with Meta. 

6. You will be asked questions such as:

• What’s your advertising budget?
• What’s your cloud provider information?
• Are you an internal team or an agency?
• What’s your level of technical expertise?

These are optional but it is advised to answer all of them so you get the best recommendation. 

7. Choose the setup option that best matches your needs and follow the instructions to complete your Pixel installation. 

Done!

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Secret tip: Use Leadsie to create Meta Business Manager Account and Facebook Ad Accounts (it's the easiest way!)

We’ve made it super easy to set up your Meta Business Portfolio and create a Facebook Ad Account without going through the whole process listed above. 

You can set up your Business Portfolio and create your ad account directly with Leadsie.

Here’s how it works:

Are you an agency that runs ads for clients who don't have a Business Manager (Portfolio) or Facebook Ad Account set up yet?

Request asset access via Leadsie and it will show them how to create Meta Business Manager account and a Facebook Ad account in a few clicks. With this simple hack, you'll be running successful ads in no time! 🥳

Sign up for your Leadsie 14-day free trial by entering your email below.